Teaching and learning at universities have shifted from face-to-face interactions to online remote learning due to the pandemic (Covid-19), but the effectiveness of online remote learning is questionable.

First-year students are being challenged with the type of learning the university deploys. 

Being computer literate is an advantage considering the situation we are in. But what about the high school graduates who have never had access to a computer? 

At most of the schools in rural areas, specified ICT is not offered. 

Lack of computers and teachers are the reasons for this. Now, when these students reach universities, they are required to do their learning online. 

It is sad to see high graduates who do not know how to start up a computer; they lack computer skills such as typing, opening and formatting a document and so on.

These are the basic computer skills they should have acquired upon completion of high school but because ICT is not a compulsory subject like English, learners neglect it because they know it will not affect their result – neither to allow them an entrance to university.

I plead for the government to take a deep look into this matter so that our first-year students do not suffer from basic computer skills.

In so doing, we are achieving our vision 2030 goals – that is to make Namibia an ICT-smart nation.